Achievements

World Bank Appericiation Certificate

OutComes

1) Completion of Business Process Reengineering Study

The entire organizational structure and the business processes of the Board of Revenue were studied and consolidated in the form of a report through consultants engaged with the assistance of the World Bank. The report of these internationally recognized consultants was used for the design of the Land Records Management and Information Systems Project.

2) Design of the Project

The Land Records Management and Information Systems Project was designed by the Project Management Unit using the experiences of the pilot projects in Kasur, Lahore, Rahim Yar Khan and Gujrat and also utilizing the experience of various Indian states.

3) Successful Appraisal of the Project by the World Bank

The project designed by the Project Management Unit was appraised by the World Bank in collaboration with the Project Management Unit and was recommended to the World Bank Board for funding. The Project Appraisal Report was issued by the World Bank on December 21, 2006.

4) Successful Negotiation of IDA Credit with the World Bank

On the basis of the recommendations of the project appraisal the project and financing agreements were negotiated with the World Bank by the Project Management Unit alongside the representatives of the Finance and P&D Departments and Federal Government. The Project Financing Agreement was signed on February 28, 2007.

The project PC-I prepared on the basis of the project design and the agreements with the World Bank was piloted through the approval process by the Project Management Unit. The project was approved by the PDWP on 21-08-2006, by CDWP on 23-09-2006, received anticipatory approval of ECNEC on 14-12-2006 and was finally approved by ECNEC on 07-03-2007.

6) Redesign of the Project with Expanded Scope and Changed Service Delivery Level

The Chief Minister, Punjab directed on 07-07-2008 that the project scope may be expanded to all 36 districts of the Province. He also directed that the project implementation arrangements may be changed so that the Project Management Unit becomes the sole executing agency for the project. Later on 21-09-2008. He approved the proposal that the project design may be changed to establish service centres in all Tehsils and Sub-Tehsils of the Province rather than in all Kanungois. On the basis of these directions the project design required substantial changes. These changes were incorporated in a revised PC-I for the project by Project Management Unit and the revised design was negotiated with the World Bank.

7) Renegotiation of Project Design with the World Bank

The changes in the project design and scope on the basis of the directions of the Chief Minister in July and September 2008 were incorporated in a revised project PC-I by the Project Management Unit and were negotiated with the World Bank during their missions in September 2008 and February 2009. The World Bank agreed to support the project with an expanded scope and also agreed in principle to enhance the funding for the project on the basis of the expanded scope and changed design.

8) Piloting the Revised Design of the Project Through the Project Approval Process Upto ECNEC

The revised project PC-I prepared on the basis of the directions of the Chief Minister and the agreements with the World Bank was piloted through the approval process by the Project Management Unit. The revised project was approved by the PDWP on 12-02-2009, by CDWP on 30-04-2009, received anticipatory approval of ECNEC on 26-05-2009 and was finally approved by ECNEC on 20-08-2009.

9) Drafting of Amendments to the Land Revenue Act, 1967

In order to provide legal cover to the computerized land records to be prepared under the project it was necessary to amend the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967. The Project Management Unit drafted the amendments in 2006 and submitted these to the Government for enactment in the same year. These were later approved by the Provincial Assembly and received the assent of the Governor in March 2007.

The Chief Minister Punjab directed substantial changes in the processes of maintenance of land records on 18-8-2009. The Project Management Unit has considered these changes and prepared draft of another set of amendments in the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967 to give effect to the directions of the Chief Minister. These amendments have been submitted for the consideration of the Provincial Cabinet before submission to the Provincial Assembly.

10) Piloting the Amendments Through the Provincial Assembly for Approval

The amendments drafted by the Project Management Unit were submitted to the Provincial Assembly in 2006 and were considered by the Standing Committee of Punjab Assembly on Revenue. The Project Management Unit made presentations to the Standing Committee after which the Standing Committee cleared the amendments. The Provincial Assembly later passed the amendments.

11) Establishment of a Financial Management Framework for Utilization of World Bank Credit

The Project Management Unit established a Financial Management Wing which was responsible for all the financial management aspects of the project. The Project Management Unit drafted a Financial Management Manual, which was approved by the Finance Department, the Accountant General Punjab, Controller General of Accounts and finally by the Project Steering Committee.

12) Establishment of Requirements of the Board of Revenue for Software Design

One of the major reasons for the failure of the earlier projects for computerization of land records was the non-involvement of the ultimate users of the system in the design of the software application. The Project Management Unit in the Board of Revenue filled that gap by bringing together the land revenue and technical expertise and on the basis of this unique combination of skills developed the base requirements for a computerized system. These base requirements were shared with the software development firms which were engaged in the software development process. The Project Management Unit remained engaged with the software development firms hired by Punjab Information Technology Board for this purpose throughout the software development process to ensure that the software being developed was in accordance with the needs of the department.

13) Analysis of the Software Documentation Submitted by the Software Development Firms to PITB

The software documentation containing the design of the software, submitted by the four firms hired by Punjab Information Technology for designing the LRMIS software were analyzed and commented upon by the Project Management Unit.

14) Development of a Detailed Set of Test Cases for Testing the Software Products in Accordance with the Business Requirements of Board of Revenue

In order to ensure that the software applications were in accordance with the requirements of the Board of Revenue and were able to perform all kinds of transactions a detailed set of test cases was developed by the Project Management Unit so that the software applications could be tested in accordance with these requirements. Development of these test cases was a result of intensive consultation with the experts in the domain of revenue records.

15) User Acceptance Testing of the Four Products Developed by the Software Development Firms

The Project Management Unit took the lead role in performing the User Acceptance Testing of the four applications developed by the four software development firms. The testing was based on the test cases developed by the Project Management Unit. Four iterations of the tests were conducted spanning a period of three months.

16) Baseline Survey for the Project Completed

Since the project is meant to improve the quality of services for the citizens, it was considered important to establish a baseline in terms of the quality of services of the Revenue Department. The work was outsourced to a renowned firm. The baseline survey has been completed by the said firm and results have been incorporated in the project design and will be used to evaluate the results and outcomes of the project.

17) Civil Works Design

In accordance with the agreements with the World Bank the Project Management Unit has engaged a design and supervision consulting firm which will be responsible for the designing of the civil works for the service centres as well as for the supervision of the construction work.

The Consulting firm has finalized the designs of the service centres to be constructed in the three pilot districts. The process of preparation and review of bidding documents for outsourcing the construction work is currently underway.

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18) Sites for Establishing Service Centres in 95% Tehsils and Sub-Tehsils Identified

The Project Management Unit has coordinated the work of selection of sites for establishing the service centres in all Tehsil (134) and sub-Tehsil (21) Headquarters in the province. Except only eight Tehsils/sub-Tehsils, sites have been earmarked in all proposed locations. The consultant has surveyed the proposed sites and a database of these sites has been prepared after the survey.

19) Proposals to Develop a Reengineered Business Process for the Registration of Deeds

The Project Management Unit is working on reengineering the business process for the registration of deeds. A new process has been designed and has been shared with the stakeholders on various fora. Implementation of the reengineered process will, however, require amendments in the law governing the process i.e. Registration Act, 1908. The Project Management Unit is currently engaged in drafting the requisite amendments to be submitted to the competent fourm.

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20) Selection of Software Through Competitive Process

Project Management Unit took over the process of selection of a software application from Punjab Information Technology Board on 26-5-2009 (the date of anticipatory approval of the revised project PC-I) when it became the executing agency for the entire project. Immediately on assuming this responsibility the Project Management Unit engaged a third party consultant to evaluate the software applications developed by three competing firms. On the basis of the recommendations of the third party consultant the best evaluated product has been selected.

The Project Management Unit has identified the shortcomings and required enhancements in the best evaluated software product and is currently negotiating the contract with the top ranking firm.

21) Public Private Partnership Structuring for 155 Service Centres has been Initiated

In order to run the operations and service delivery at the established service centres for LRMIS in an efficient, smooth and effective manner, Project Management Unit has planned to run the service centres in PPP mode. The idea is to outsource the service centres operation and maintenance after development of infrastructure, to a third party / private partner. Project Management Unit has completed the financial feasibility of the PPP model and analysis work has also been completed. The designing exercise is expected to be completed by the end of February 2010. This design will be piloted in the three pilot districts.

22) Deployment of LRMIS Software at Kasur to Test Run the Service Delivery and Fard Issuance

To pilot test the software application developed under the project in real time environment in order to minimize risks and improve the stability, efficiency and functionality of software application, Project Management Unit has planned to deploy the software in Kasur district head quarters. The objective of this exercise would be to pilot the business process re-engineering, software, service delivery, connectivity and project design generally.

23) Test Data Entry Lab

Immediately after completion of the process of software selection Project Management Unit has set up a Data Entry room at its office at 168 Shadman II, Lahore. The laboratory is being used to conduct test data entry and also to allow the practitioners in the field to test the software application.

24) Live Mutations (Download Movie)

Changes in the mutation process require changes in the law and rules. Timing of these changes, however, is not in the control of the project. At the same time it was necessary to test live mutations at the Service Centre. In order to be able to test the process (and only for this purpose), it was decided that till the necessary legal changes are made, a dual process of manual and digital approvals will be followed. Using this dual process, on June 15 and 16, three mutations were entered at the Service Centre. Video recording of the first ever live mutation done in Pakistan on June 15, 2010 is available at
[Click here to download Video]​. During the mutation process the seller and buyer were both present, their biometric identification and photos were recorded and made a part of the record and the Revenue Officer approved the entry of mutation digitally using his biometric identification as well as his password. The record was instantaneously updated and copies of updated record were provided to the parties along with a copy of the mutation.